Spring football: South Walton looks to strengthen line play

travisd@nwfdailynews.com

"Our offensive line coaches have some work ahead of them," Barron said.

There is a level of excitement surrounding the Seahawks' program in 2008 as Barron welcomed former longtime Niceville offensive coordinator Ron Mayer to his staff this offseason.

Mayer brings with him a wide-open, pass-oriented scheme unlike those seen at South Walton in years past.

But in order for Mayer's offense - or any offense at all, for that matter - to run efficiently, the Seahawks will need strong play out of their offensive line.

It is along that offensive front that most of the South Walton staff's questions center.

"If you don't have linemen and you don't have blocking you can't do anything," Mayer said. "Your quarterback can't throw, your running backs can't run - nothing works."

Line coach Terry Moore is hopeful of finding seven players to fill the Seahawks' five-man line, a number that would give South Walton a pair of trusty reserves.

Three starters return from last season, including rising senior Patrick Morris at center and experienced guards in Spencer Martin and Carlton Seilhan to give the Seahawks what Moore called a "good nucleus" from which to build.

"The luxury we have is having a center coming back that has played the position and is a pretty smart player," Moore said.

"I think we have the key components, if we can just get some depth to rally around them and if we can stay healthy we have a chance to be pretty decent."

Mayer will also have a battle-tested quarterback (Dennis Smith) and punishing fullback (Bryant Adams) at his disposal.

Meanwhile, Phil Tisa, who takes over as the Seahawks' defensive coordinator after serving as linebackers coach a year ago, returns an experienced secondary but a green front seven.

Smith and Kyle Stewart return to head the defensive backs, while Morris is the lone returner up front.

Those are the lone three returning starters as the Seahawks have no linebackers coming back that started last season when South Walton went 3-7.

Tisa, much like Mayer, will be depending on the same group of linemen to fill some glaring holes.

"Right now, that's an issue for us," Tisa said.

Morris, who doubles as the Seahawks' starting nose guard on Friday nights, said he and his teammates know just how pivotal their play is to the upcoming season.

"Football isn't football without a line," Morris said. "People can run all they want but if the line doesn't block, the play's not going anywhere."